be able to pay the debts of a beggar-if the Spirit of God, who works by an almighty power, be able to convince thee of righteousness, as well as sin, John 16:9, 10-if all these three causes of forgiveness be sufficient, the first to move, the second to purchase, and the third to apply; what hinders but thy trembling conscience may go to Christ, and thy discouraged soul move onward with hope in the way of believing, whatever thy former enormities have been?

(2.) If God raises glory to his name out of the greatness of the sins he pardons, then the greatness of sin can be no discouragement to believing; and this he does. "I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it," Jer. 33:8, 9; as a cure performed upon a man laboring under a desperate disease honors the physician, and spreads his name far and near. Satan envies God this glory and thy soul this comfort, and therefore scares thee off from Christ by the aggravations of thy sins. David was willing to give God the glory of pardoning his great iniquities, and with that very argument entreats him for a pardon: "Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." Psalm 25:11. You see there are strange ways of arguing in Scripture, which are not in use among men; this is one, Lord, pardon my sin, for it is great. He does not say, Lord, pardon it, for it is but a small offence; but pardon it because it is great; and the greater it is, the greater glory wilt thou have in pardoning it. And then there is another way of arguing for pardon in the Scripture, which is peculiar; and that is, to argue from former pardons unto new pardons. When men beg pardon one of another, they

are wont to say, I never wronged you before, and therefore forgive now; but here it is quite otherwise: Lord, thou hast signed thousands of pardons heretofore, therefore pardon me again. Such is the plea in Num. 14:19, "Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now."

(3.) As great sins as those that now confront thy conscience have been actually forgiven to men, upon their humiliation and closing with Christ. God forbid I should diminish and extenuate sin; but certain I am that freegrace has pardoned as great sinners as thou art, upon their repentance and faith. What think you? had you had a hand in putting Christ to death, would not that sin have been as dreadful as any that now discourages you? Yea, certainly, you would have thought that an unpardonable sin; and yet behold, that very sin was no bar to their pardon when once they were pricked in their heart, and made willing to come to Christ. Acts 2:36-38.

(4.) If it be the design and policy of Satan to object the greatness of your sins to prevent their pardon, then it is neither your duty nor interest to use it for the same end; thus entering into a confederacy with your mortal enemy in a plot against the honor of Christ, and the salvation of your own soul. Take. heed what you do, seal not Satan's conclusions. Do you think it is a small matter to be confederate with the devil? Certainly this is his design; he magnifies your sins to discourage you from faith. While you were secure and carnal, he never magnified, but diminished your sins to you; but now the Lord has opened your eyes, and you are brought near to the door of hope, mercy, and pardon, he magnifies them, hoping thereby to lame and weaken thy faith, that it shall not be able to carry thee to Christ.

(5.) If thy sin is really unpardonable, then God has

somewhere excepted it in the gospel-grant. He has somewhere said, The man that has committed this sin, or continued so many years in it, shall never be forgiven: but in the whole New Testament there is but one sin that is absolutely excepted from the possibility of pardon, and that such a sin as thy sorrows and desires after Christ fully acquit thee from the guilt of. This sin indeed is excepted: "The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." Matt. 12:31. This is that which the Scripture calls " a sin unto death." 1 John, 5:16. Let apostate professors, transformed into persecutors, scoffers, and haters of godliness and the professors of it, look to themselves; the dreadful symptoms of this sin appear upon such. But the humbled soul thirsting after Christ stands clear of the guilt of that sin.

(6.) If there were no forgiveness with God for great sinners, then great sinners had never been invited to come to Christ. The invitations of the gospel are no mockeries, but things of most awful solemnity. Now, such sinners are called and invited under the encouragement of a pardon. Consult Isa. 1: 10-17, and see the horrid aggravations of the people's sins; and yet, at ver. 17, 18, you may read the gracious invitations of God, with promises of a full remission. So in the third chapter of Jeremiah, what a sad catalogue of sins with their aggravations do you find? and yet it is said, "Go and proclaim these words towards the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful."

(7.) If thy sins had not been capable of remission, God would never have given thee conviction of sin, nor have drawn forth the desires of thy heart in this manner after Christ. He hath united remission to repentance, Acts 5:31, and a blessing to gracious desires and hungerings, Matt. 5: 6. There is therefore hope, that when God has given thee one,

he will not long withhold the other. This very wounding of thy heart by compunction, and drawing forth thy will by inclination, shows that remission is not only possible, but even at the door.

(8.) Let this also be thine encouragement, whatever Satan or thine own heart may suggest to discourage thee, that great sinners are moving in the way of repentance and faith to a great Saviour, who hath merit enough in his blood, and mercy enough in his heart, to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Heb. 7:25. The Lord open to the eyes of your faith the rich treasury of free-grace, Exodus 346, 7, and give you a sight of that plenteous redemption and forgiveness which are with God, Psalm 130: 4,7, that you may not cast reproach on the most glorious attribute of God, undervalue the precious blood of Christ, and stab your own souls with a death-wound of desperation; which is what Satan intends, and what the gospel designs to prevent.

3. If the vilest of sinners may as readily be pardoned, on their closing with Christ by faith, as the least of sinners, the pardon and salvation of sinners is not built upon any righteousness in themselves, but only on the free-grace of God in Jesus Christ. Do not think God hath set the blood of Christ to sale, and that those only are capable of the benefits of it who have lived the most strict and sober lives. No; though sobriety, morality, and strictness in religious duties are commanded and commended in the gospel, yet no man by these things can purchase a pardon for the least sin. "If by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work." Rom. 11:6. See how these exclude one another: thus Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." No man can satisfy God by any thing he can do or suffer; not by doing, for

all we do is mixed with sin, Job 14:4, and that which is sinful can be no atonement for sin. All we do or can do is a debt due to God, Luke 17:10, and one debt cannot satisfy for another. Nor yet by suffering, for the sufferings awarded by the law are everlasting; and to be ever satisfying is never to satisfy: so then, by the works of the law shall no flesh living be justified in his sight. The saints in all generations have fled to mercy for remission. Psalm 130: 8. Of the two debtors, Luke 7: 41, 42, though there was a vast difference in the debts, yet of the lesser, as well as of the greater, it is said they had nothing to pay. Nothing but the satisfaction of Christ can meet the demands of God upon you.

4. If the grace of Christ be thus free to the greatest of sinners, it is both our sin and folly to keep away from Christ, and to draw back from believing, for want of qualifications which we find not to be wrought in our hearts. Poor convinced souls think if they had more humility, tenderness, love to God, and spirituality of mind, this would be some encouragement to believe; but because they have no such ornaments to dress up their souls withal, they are not fit to go to Christ. Now, to correct this great mistake, let two things be considered.

(1.) Such an idea as this crosses the very stream of the covenant of grace, where nothing is sold, but all is freely given. This is the very spirit of the covenant of works: fain would we find something in ourselves to bring to God, to procure his favor and acceptance; but the gospel tells us we must come naked and empty-handed, to be justified freely by his grace. Rom. 3:24. We must be justified as Abraham was, who believed in him that justifieth the ungodly; "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Rom. 45. The meaning is, to him that worketh not in a law-sense, to procure pardon and acceptance by and